Awards of Excellence 2007
Best
Practice or Program—Educational Programming—College
Rensselear Polytechnic Institute—Sophomore Career Experience
In
conversations with students, career counselors at Rensselaer Polytechnic
Institute (RPI) saw a disturbing trend: many of the students said they didn’t
really know the staff of the career development center (CDC).
“The students wanted us to reach out to them and really welcome them to the CDC,” explains Diana Leis Delker, director of cooperative education and senior associate director of the CDC. “They also told us that the sophomore year was the ideal time to do this. We wanted to connect with them at an early point, develop stronger relationships with them, and enhance their chances of success after graduation.”
To accomplish this, the CDC staff worked to develop the “Sophomore Career Experience (SCE)” program. The CDC set up a steering committee with student representatives from every class that developed a proposal with recommendations for educational programming. The CDC then took the proposal to some of the employers it works with for funding.
“We were excited when BAE Systems, GE, and IBM agreed to partner with us on this program,” Delker says.
SCE consists of six programs or themes presented over the course of an academic year, three during each semester. Topics include resume writing, career exploration, networking, interview techniques, experiential learning, and mentoring. In addition to a formal program presented over a two-hour period in a classroom setting each month, there is a related activity or assignment. This year, the CDC staff presented three programs and its corporate sponsors each presented a program.
The primary objectives of the SCE are to:
- Provide a formal transition for freshmen from the First Year Experience program, thereby enhancing their education at RPI.
- Teach students critical behaviors to strengthen their career awareness and professional development.
- Develop essential and fundamental skills for sophomores related to career exploration and decision making; verbal and written communication; human relations; and job-search strategies.
SCE kicked off with an outdoor barbecue in September 2006. All sophomores who registered for the program were invited to attend.
“At the kickoff we handed out membership packets and information on SCE and introduced our corporate partners who would help us present our monthly programs,” says Jennifer Heptig, career counselor. “Students also were encouraged to view the SCE web site containing the calendar of events and more details on the program.”
The CDC limited enrollment in the first year because, Delker notes, it had never offered a program on this scale and wanted to keep it manageable. The target enrollment was reached and exceeded within the first few weeks.
“We originally set a limit of 250 students, but because there was an overwhelming response by sophomores, we allowed 329 students to register for SCE,” says Dawn Cairns-Weaver, assistant director of the CDC.
Meanwhile, the students who couldn’t enroll were encouraged to stop by the CDC to pick up a Sophomore Career Guide.
The CDC sent out a monthly newsletter to SCE participants to let them know how the programs were going and what was coming up next. It also designed a “Membership Rewards Card” which CDC staffers punched when a program participant attended an event.
“We kept a detailed record on which events students attended. Then, immediately after each event, we invited students to complete an online evaluation, so we had a good idea of what students liked and didn’t like,” Delker explains. “The satisfaction level is high; the students seem to love SCE and want us to keep it going. I think they particularly like the fact that it’s just for sophomores— it makes them feel special. Also, they like the collaboration with employers.
According to Weaver, the mission of the CDC is to help students identify, plan for, and achieve their career goals. Rensselaer students are involved with the First Year Experience, which helps freshmen navigate the school.
“SCE is intended to be the next step which will allow students to get to know their major and how it would apply to a career,” she adds. “SCE is intended to teach students the critical behaviors and skills necessary to enhance their career awareness, professional development, and to succeed after they graduate.”
